1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an image forming system, and more particularly to an image forming system that combines an image forming apparatus that forms an image on paper by means of the electrophotographic method and an after-processing device that folds and/or staples the paper after an image has been formed on it.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in the field of image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and laser printers, various types of devices termed finishers, intended to automate the processing of paper on which images have been formed, have been developed. For example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Hei 4-320896, a technology is disclosed in which a fold is made in a sheet of copy paper which is to become a cover, so that the paper that is to contain the contents of the document is inserted inside the paper that is to become the cover, and stapling is performed on the fold side of the paper.
However, using the conventional copying machine and finisher, it has been impossible to prepare a document in which one edge of a single sheet or multiple sheets protrudes from the packet of copy sheets as an index page or pages.